This Georgia Town Raised Over $184K for a Homeless Teen Who Biked 50 Miles to School

Up until a few weeks ago, 19-year-old Fred Barley was homeless. He was an unemployed college student living in a tent in Conyers, GA, waiting for the school year to start up again. But Barley wanted something better for himself and his future. So, in order to try and nab a campus-area job before the rest of the students made their way back to school for the fall, he rode his little brother's bike over 50 miles to Gordon State College in Barnesville, six hours away. Fred wanted to register for classes on time and find a job—but he ended up finding so much more.

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According to FOX 5, police soon found him sleeping in a tent on campus, and after listening to his story, they set him up in a motel room. "We get to talking with him asking where he's from and he tells us the story about the bike ride from Conyers. I'm like 'man this is crazy,'" Officer Richard Carreker told FOX 5.

Word about Fred's situation spread among the community, and soon the whole town felt moved to take action.

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Casey Blaney and her son Cole were among the many locals who offered their support. "We asked him what he wanted and what we could do for him and he just said, 'I really don't want anything,'" Casey told FOX 5. "After we kept asking, he said 'a job.'"

Fred, a biology major with dreams of going to medical school, is now registered for classes and is working across town at DB's Pizzeria. Owner Debra Adamson hired him on the spot.

"I created a position for him before he walked in my door. I
didn't know his name. I didn't know the color of his skin. I didn't care. I've
been there, so I guess I had a soft spot for anyone who is that determined to
succeed in life," Debra told WSB-TV2.

People have been donating clothes and school supplies and have even stepped in to take care of medical needs. Casey created a Facebook page called Success For Fred, which has almost 42K members to date and a GoFundMe page that has raised over $184K.

Casey announced that the page is now closed to donations, as Fred's support group has reached its goal. "The final love gifts for Fred totaled $184,266. What a wonderful nation/world of people we have," she wrote in a Facebook post.

If you'd like to help out, you can send an encouraging letter or card to Fred at the following address: